


Broadway, Here I Come!

by Space_Daemon



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Canon Compliant, Fluff, Gen, Happy, Mindless Fluff, Welcome to Christine Lovers Anonymous, i love her okay, this girl I said my angel and I insist that she’s everybody else’s too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-10-01 08:31:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17240942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Space_Daemon/pseuds/Space_Daemon
Summary: Christine attends an assembly praising high achievers, and reflects on her own goals.One-shot about Christine, a criminally under-utilised character.





	Broadway, Here I Come!

**Author's Note:**

> This was so fun to write, and I just had to as soon as I watched an I Love Play Rehearsal animatic again.

“Well,” said the principal, “this year has certainly been eventful.”

A wary chuckle came from the students, though there was a suspicious silence in the corner of the hall housing Jeremy Heere and his friends, the SQUIP Squad. Michael squeezed Christine’s hand from where he sat beside her. She smiled at him, though she could not manage her usual cavalier attitude.

The year had been eventful, there was no doubt about that. But it had not been a pleasant one either. Michael had been very kind to everyone that had been SQUIPped, despite having no idea what it felt like. He and Christine had bonded over how much enthusiasm they had for life in general, and she was officially his player three.

“But,” the man at the podium continued, “we did not let it get the best of us. I am certain that we all remember the events of the fall musical. That gas leak-“ Oh yes, the mysterious ‘gas leak’ that had stumped everybody who came to fix it. Christine considered her performance to the boiler repairman one of her finest- “was a truly dark time for us all, and we are so very grateful to Mr Reyes for allowing the show to go on. And of course, who could forget our athletes?”

Christine took this as a cue to zone out entirely. Honestly, when the conversation turned to sports, she was lucky to stay awake. Even though she had passion for all of life, it would never be easy to find a passion for the pursuit of a ball across a field. Unless it was field hockey, of course. Christine loved field hockey - it was so dramatic. Somebody should write a play about field hockey. Maybe she should write the play herself. _“‘Field of Passion’, by renowned playwright Christine Canigula.”_ She liked the sound of that.

Or she could write a play about her life. Maybe the whole SQUIP thing. The SQUIP-cident? Whatever. But, to be fair, she didn’t know much about it until it was almost over. She’d have to write it from Rich’s perspective. Or maybe Jeremy’s. Nah, nobody’d watch that. Plus, the story needed female leads. There were like, two major Broadway shows with a majority female cast. Ooh, maybe she’d win a Tony and become super-famous. What if she met Lin-Manuel Miranda? She would die of happiness. Is it possible to do that? Well, her great-aunt had died of sadness after her husband died, so maybe you could. If Christine had decided to become a doctor like her dad asked, she might know that.

But what about her Papa? He’d told her to follow her dreams, and her dreams were Broadway, baby. She had actually _had_ a dream about being on Broadway - many, in fact. Like that one where she was performing a one-woman show of Heathers, to repturous applaue. Or that time she sang ‘Popular’ in front of a crowd filled with puppet versions of her friends and family. That one had been pretty weird. Maybe it meant something, like she should actually be in Avenue Q. Or that they had all been controlled by secret SQUIP-flavoured puppet masters. Except that Michael and her dads had been there, and _they_ hadn’t been SQUIPped. Maybe it didn’t mean anything.

Her train of thought was interrupted by a round of applause. She quickly began cheering, becoming louder when she saw that it was Jake on the stage getting an award. She turned to Michael, confused.

“He won the juniors’ award for Best Sports All-Rounder,” the boy replied. Christine had to smile at the way he knew she hasn’t been listening. It was hard to listen when you found yourself constantly distracted by more interesting thoughts. Like the idea of writing a - no, concentrate on making now. She could worry about writing that hockey opera later. Hockpera? Whatever. 

“Yeah Jakey! Whoooo!” Rich was practically screaming. “That’th my athlete! Look at that handthome man!” Jake grinned, waving dopily at the group and Rich in particular. Rich gave him awkward, shaky finger guns, and Jake visibly swooned.

Christine giggled. “He does know that there’s no prize, right?”

“I think he thinks that him screaming makes up for it,” replied Chloe from the seat behind her. Jeremy shook his head.

“The kid’d scream the wind down for Jake, you know that.”

“Oh, we know,” Michael said. Jeremy shoved him, groaning as the armrest between them hit his ribs.

“Karma,” Chloe whispered in a sing-song voice. Her protectiveness of Michael knew no bounds; nor did her glee at watching Jeremy get injured. Christine pretty was sure it was jealousy over the fact that he was the only other person Brooke had ever kissed. The girl was like a viper - a viper who held grudges. Jake hobbled back to the group, accepting Rich’s smacking kiss to the cheek with a bright red face, and the assembly carried on.“Next up is a sophomore art prodigy. Their work has been on display at a gallery in _New York City_ ,” the principal stressed the city’s name. The students gave the mandatory ooh at its mention, and then quieted down.

“Dustin Kropp,” whispered Jenna. “Twenty bucks.”

“I bet it’s Madeline,” murmured Jeremy. “She’s all artsy, isn’t she?”

”I think it’s just the whole Francophile thing,” replied Michael.

”Same difference. Don’t French do loads of art? It’s Madeline, one hundred percent.”

“You’re on.”

“Everybody give a great big cheer for... Dustin Kropp!” Jeremy groaned as the applause struck up and the boy ran up to the stage, nervously accepting his award. He handed Jenna fifteen dollars from his own pocket and - after some strategic pouting - five from Michael’s.

The awards kept coming, for English and Math, for top marks in AP Algebra and most improved in Additional Chemistry. (Madeline actually did win an award for French. Chloe’s fuming face as she accepted it and gave a short speech entirely in French was priceless. If Brooke hadn’t been there, Chloe just might have stormed onto the stage and bashed the girl’s head in with the damn thing.) Christine had almost entirely lost her will to concentrate. Then, the principal said the magic words.

“In Drama.”

Christine sat up like someone had put a rod in her spine. Michael chuckled at her suddenly dead serious expression, but she was laser focused on the principal. “Now, besides the- misfortune of the fall musical, we have had a very impressive year in terms of theatre. And I would like everybody to give a hand to the group of dedicated juniors who have completely redefined the drama program.”

The eyes of the audience turned to the corner in which the group were sat. With Michael and Jenna in the crew, and everybody else in the cast, the following productions had been unbridled successes. They _did_ work in - almost - perfect synchronisation, after all.

“Thank you. But there is one student whose absolute enthusiasm, dedication, and raw talent is worthy of special recognition. They inspire those around them to be better, and to work harder; for themselves and the school. They have done so much, in fact, that I believe they are entitled to a particularly prestigious award. And that student is...”

Jeremy? He’d been the only one with her right out of the gate during the fall musical. Wait, that had been a ruse to get her to date him. Maybe not Jeremy, then. Jenna was certainly the loudest of them all, maybe her? Michael? Or could it be-

“... Christine Canigula.”

 _Uproar_. Michael jumped to his feet, screaming excitedly. Rich and Jeremy jumped up and down, clinging to each other. Jake pushed himself up on his crutches, cheering. The girls all screamed with joy, yelling adulation. But it wasn’t just them. Everybody from the cast and crew were on their feet, eyes wide and hands loud. Jake’s teammates were whooping for her. Rich and Michael’s DND Club, Brooke’s knitting buddies. Even Jenna’s younger sisters were shouting for her. It was absolutely incredible, and terrifying.

Hesitantly, Christine walked up onto the stage. As she did so, the applause strengthened threefold. If she got out of this one with both eardrums intact, she’d be surprised. But it was all worth it.

At the podium, the principal handed her a certificate. It read,

“For her role as Lady Macbeth in Macbeth: Christine Canigula. Best Performance, Drama.”

Christine grinned, and felt the tears on her cheeks. She was crying a lot. A LOT. The warmth was spilling onto her chest and shoulders, and her cheeks hurt from how wide her smile was. She gave a little wave to her friends, and they somehow got even louder. Overcome with emotion, she grabbed the principal and hugged him. This was like, the greatest day of her life. Except maybe for the days she actually got to perform. Those felt like she was flying.

“Go get ‘em, Christie!” Michael screamed.

Her body felt so light. Every second felt like it was lasting twenty, as the world moved in the janky slow motion you might get in an eighties’ movie. Her heart rate rose by at least eighty percent, and she fought to breathe steadily. The faces in the crowd were all so proud, and she found herself struggling not to jump for joy. She stopped struggling, and actually did jump for joy.

The principal gave her a golden trophy. The plaque affixed to it told her that she had,

“Exceptional Talent - Christine Canigula. Engaging, entertaining, and excellent.”

The waterworks started up again. The principal nodded towards the microphone.

“Thank you so much,” she blubbered. The crowd laughed, falling silent. “For everything. It sounds dumb, but I really love play rehearsal.”

Jeremy whooped, and she giggled.

“I’m never happier than when I get to start reading my lines, when I get to follow it to the letter and be the best I can be. I love _all_ the work that goes into making a show amazing. So I do a lot of it. A lot a lot. I practise all the time, every day, and I love it. It’s the best. Being up there on stage is incredible, the most awesome feeling I’ve ever had. It’s like the feeling you get when a state introduces sensible gun control laws that take into account the change in firearm power and accuracy since the writing of the Second Amendment.”

Crickets.

From the back there was a muted, “hell yeah!” It might have come from one of the jocks.

“It’s like the feeling you get after completing a level on a video game first time, with no mistakes.”

Michael chuckled, leaning into Jeremy like they were proud parents watching her. Chloe handed Michael her phone, and he took a picture of Christine up there, showing it to the group as if she was his daughter. Everybody grinned, and Jeremy shushed them, pointing to her. She fought the urge to coo at them. Oh, yeah. She was giving a speech.

“But anywho. Even though I adore the actual show, the moment it’s done, I’m counting down again. I live for the day I can fling open the doors of the drama room and get my teeth stuck into a fresh new script. Not that I actually bite it. Anymore. I’ve got a funny story about that, actually-“

The principal coughed, gesturing to the clock. “Okay, okay. All I wanna say is that even though this is, really important,” she choked on her tears, “it’s just the beginning. Because you can bet your butt I’m going to be making a speech like this again. I’m gonna be making a whole heck of a lot more speeches. Because I have a plan. I will be remembered, just you wait and see.” Michael snickered.

“So when you watch me accepting my third Tony, know that I’m gonna be thinking about this moment today. And I’m going to thank everybody here for believing in me. Thank you for letting me try playing so many parts. Thank you for letting play rehearsal be worth something.”

She left the stage to deafening applause, pausing on the last step before she was on the floor of the auditorium. She closed her eyes, and listened to the audience.

And for that moment, Christine Canigula was on Broadway, defying gravity.

**Author's Note:**

> I really enjoyed this. Christine’s train of thought was super fun to write, and I really connected with her. I’ll be honest, this was a very self-indulgent fit for me. I feel like Christine doesn’t get a lot of recognition outside of her relationships with Jeremy or Jake, which sucks. She’s so interesting, and I find her personality really interesting. BTW, the animatic that inspired me to write this can be found at:
> 
> https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-0_MGLsdmQk
> 
> I highly recommend it.


End file.
